Public Health Commons^™

The Relationship Of Delivery Method, Birth Weight And Race On Infant Mortality, Anjie Adeyemo

Symposium of Student Scholars

Infant mortality is defined as the number of deaths per 1000 births. The U.S. infant mortality rate in 2014 was reported as 5.8 deaths per 1000 births which is very high compared to other countries such as Japan where the rate 2.1 deaths per 1000 births. The leading causes of infant death are congenital malformations, SIDS, low birthweight, pre-term births and maternal complications. For this project, I will analyze birthweight in addition to other factors related to infant death. My research aims to see how the factors of delivery method, birthweight, and race influence infant mortality to see how it …

Anti-Vaxxers: Parents Fighting Science, Katie West

Symposium of Student Scholars

Immunizing children helps protect the health of our community, especially those people who cannot be immunized. Yet, since 1996 after a study was released that linked autism to vaccinations, there has been a trend of parents refusing to vaccinate their children. What are the demographics of the parents who believe their children are better off without vaccines? By knowing where these parents live and what decisions they make for their children’s education, counties and medical professionals can provide education and address their concerns.

My research involves data on 116,141 kindergarten classes from 2000-2015 in California. The two vaccine exemption options …

Opioid Abuse: Are Doctors Creating The Problem?, Nguyen Tran

Symposium of Student Scholars

Opioid abuse and overdose are serious health problems in the United States. Current research has concentrated on the treatment and prevention of opioid abuse. Using data from the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for California zip codes, my research focuses on the causes of opioid overdose by considering the relationships between the following variables within each zip code: population size, average number of prescriptions per doctor, percentage of people who receive opioid prescriptions, percentage of people receiving the same prescription drug from 3 or more doctors, average number of opioid pills per prescription and number of people …

Food Deserts: Hungry For Answers, Lawren Cumberbatch

Symposium of Student Scholars

In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million people in the United States live in food deserts. As defined by the USDA, a “food desert” is a neighborhood that lacks healthy food sources. This can be measured by distance to a store, number of stores in an area, individual-level resources such as family income or vehicle availability, and neighborhood-level resources such as availability of public transportation. Past research provides evidence that food deserts are especially likely to occur in communities heavily populated by minorities. As a Black Indian pre-med student aiming to join the world …

Reporting Of Eating Disorder Deaths, Katherine Mobley, Amy Hord

Symposium of Student Scholars

Those affected by eating disorders experience disturbances in eating behaviors which are often related to underlying psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (Parekh, 2017, Drieberg et al., 1998 p.53). The duplicitous nature of the disorder makes it difficult to diagnose, and the tole it takes on an individual’s physical health makes its mortality rate the second highest among psychiatric disorders (Guinhut et al., 2021 p.130). Even if the correct education and resources are accessible to certain individuals, negative stigmatization about the disorder can make sufferers unlikely to seek help (Becker et al., 2010). Findings from analysis of …